"The Navy gets credit for that one, General. The Navy and a handful of SEALs."
"What I heard. I don't care who pulls the trigger. We need a plan, a surprise, something stunning. Not a nuclear bomb on Pyongyang. A practical, workable plan that will set North Korea back on its haunches. Get to work. I want it first thing in the morn ing." Colonel Vuylsteke nodded and hurried out. The general got to his feet and studied the map.
Where should their next thrust be to push the NKs back into their own country? The DMZ had been least penetrated on the east. Might be just the place to drive them back across the line and let them stew a little.
A month, maybe two it was going to take to convince North Korea that they had to stay on their side of the lines or there would be shooting. The Pentagon, Washington, and the American people wouldn't stand for it that long. The six-day Gulf land war was too much for the public. Two months more of this Korean fighting, and the Administration and the Army brass would be roasted alive.
What in hell would it take to shake the NKs right down to their bootstraps?
General Reynolds paced his reinforced office for half an hour. No course of action came to him. Damn! Maybe G-2 would come up with some kind of a plan. He hoped so. A glance at his watch showed it was 0135. He'd better get some sleep. When did he tell Colonel Vuylsteke to have a plan ready? He couldn't remember. Shit, now he was losing his memory. No. He remembered. He'd said first thing in the morning. That always meant at 0600. Not a lot of time to sleep.
By the time Colonel Vuylsteke reported to his general at 0600, General Reynolds had been working over his maps and reports for a full hour. He waved his top planner aside and finished what he had in front of him, then looked up.
"So?" Reynolds asked.
"We have a plan we think will work. It should shake the whole of North Korea right down to its floppy sandals."
"Good, put it on hold for two days. Tomorrow morning I want an offensive thrust into the old Changdan sector. The penetration there is less than three miles. I want to get the NKs driven back to the DMZ and held there. How long will it take you to get the troops ready, to bring up a battalion in reserve to beef up the attack, and get out tanks over there to lead the thrust?"
Vuylsteke relaxed and grinned. "General, we have a buildup started in that area. We can finish it today and get the tanks shifted over there and blast out at daylight tomorrow. You want to hear about our plan to end the war?"
"No, not now. Let's get this attack rolling and see how it goes. All we have to do is drive them back to the DMV all along the line."
The general looked at Vuylsteke, who had lifted his brows.
"What?"
"All along the line, sir? Twenty-five miles? That's going to take us six months."
"We'll see. Get things in motion. I want to be behind the troops when they charge out in the morning."
"Sir, I hope that means way behind, like five miles."
General Reynolds snorted. "Al, you know me a hell of a lot better than that. Get my Humvee ready. Now, don't you have a few orders to give?"
Colonel Vuylsteke waved a partial salute and hurried out of the room.
During the rest of that day, the ROK forces facing the enemy along the Changdon sector sent out four patrols. Two were set up to make contact with the enemy, judge any strength he might have at that point, and return. Both patrols came back bloodied and with two dead. The NKs appeared to have strengthened their lines at this point.
Near sunset. General Reynolds sent an order for a prisoner patrol. They had to bring back if possible an NK officer who knew what the situation was across the line.
Colonel Vuylsteke shook his head as he reported on the last patrol to come in.
"They were met in force, General. A fourteen-man patrol was to make contact and bug out. They made contact and almost got wiped out. Heavy machine guns, mortars, and some kind of recoilless rifles. They were so close our ROKs could see the back blast."
"So?"
"Looks like the NKs can reinforce a sector too. We've thought for a long time we have some security leaks. Somehow they knew we were building up along there and did the same thing at the same time. There's no point in trying for that attack in the morning. We better call it off before we lose a lot of men and get exactly no where."
"Is that what the South Korean officers think as well?" General Reynolds asked.
"Yes, sir, and this time they're right."
General Reynolds sat in his chair and stared at the big map. "All right, call it off. Leave that battalion in reserve up close until we know that the NKs have thinned out that sector." He threw his favorite riding crop across the room and stared at his top aide.
"Now, Vuylsteke, let's hear about that great plan you have for ending the war. Remember that we can't drop a nuke on Pyongyang."
"Agreed, General, but we think you'll like our plan almost that much. Six of us got together and were up all night putting this together. It's simple, really, and the risk factor is practically nil."
Lieutenant Commander Blake Murdock took DeWitt and Jaybird along with him this time when he was called to the admiral's cabin just after evening mess. They had been resting up for the past day and a half, and wondered when the next shoe would fall. It was now.
"Admiral's got something big to talk to you about," Don Stroh had said ten minutes ago. "We best get right up there and have a chat."
In the compartment were the Admiral, CAG Olson, the captain of the carrier, and two more officers Murdock didn't know. The three SEALs and Stroh edged into the room.
"Good, we're all here," Admiral Kenner said. "This one is about as top secret as they come. No one outside this room, except perhaps the rest of the SEALs, is to know anything about what we say here. Is that completely understood?"
The men in the room nodded or gave a curt "Aye, aye."
"I've had a request for a strike by the SEALs from General Reynolds, commander of the Eighth Army and the ROK forces now fighting along the DMZ in Korea. It's a bit unusual." The admiral stood and moved to the back of his chair.
"You may have noticed that I said the general has given us a request, not an order. This mission is top secret, but it also is entirely a volunteer one. I won't give an order for you SEALs to undertake this project. If you want to accept it, it would have to be by the decision of the entire SEAL contingent. Is that clear?" The admiral looked directly at Murdock.
"Yes, sir."
"Fine, then let's proceed. General Reynolds is under extreme pressure to end the fighting. The politicos in Washington say end the fighting with the troops in place and redraw the DMZ.
That's not acceptable to the Army or to the South Koreans. The pressure is growing by the day.
The American public thinks a land war should last only four days like it did in the Gulf.
"With this in mind, General Reynolds asked his staff to come up with a plan to end the war quickly. It has. They have pitched that plan to us.
"I've been on the phone with the general for twenty minutes, going over this plan. We agree how it might work. Here it is.
"Briefly, it's a head-hunting mission. The idea is to execute the top three men in the North Korean government, all of whom are Army generals. You may remember that the former leader Kim Jong II was overthrown by an Army coup a year ago. The generals now rule with an iron fist. The fourth man in the government is a civilian who had some power in the Jong government. That's it. This type of an attack is unusual for our military. We had headhunters in Vietnam, but usually for much smaller targets. SEALs, it's up to you. Mr. Stroh has checked with his people, who talked to the President. He has approved the mission if the SEALs okay it. I suggest you men return to your unit and consider this request. I'll expect your decision within an hour."